27 July 2006<%=replace((Recordset1.Fields.Item("NewsStory").Value),VbCrLf,"
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Auckland Regional Public Health Service
Consuming Inequality: The Obesity Pandemic

<% If (Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories1").Value) <> "" OR (Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories1").Value) <> null Then SQLWhere = " AND (NewsStory LIKE '%"&(Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories1").Value)&"%' OR NewsHeadline LIKE '%"&(Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories1").Value)&"%'" End If If (Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories2").Value) <> "" OR (Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories2").Value) <> null Then SQLWhere = SQLWhere&" OR NewsStory LIKE '%"&(Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories2").Value)&"%' OR NewsHeadline LIKE '%"&(Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories2").Value)&"%'" End If If (Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories3").Value) <> "" OR (Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories3").Value) <> null Then SQLWhere = SQLWhere&" OR NewsStory LIKE '%"&(Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories3").Value)&"%' OR NewsHeadline LIKE '%"&(Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories2").Value)&"%'" End If If (Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories4").Value) <> "" OR (Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories4").Value) <> null Then SQLWhere = SQLWhere&" OR NewsStory LIKE '%"&(Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories4").Value)&"%' OR NewsHeadline LIKE '%"&(Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories2").Value)&"%'" End If If (Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories5").Value) <> "" OR (Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories5").Value) <> null Then SQLWhere = SQLWhere&" OR NewsStory LIKE '%"&(Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories5").Value)&"%' OR NewsHeadline LIKE '%"&(Recordset1.Fields.Item("RelatedStories2").Value)&"%'" End If SQLWhere = SQLWhere&")" %>Obesity has now reached pandemic status in the Auckland Region says Monica Briggs Joint Service Manager for the Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS).

The comment was made as part of the ARPHS oral submission to the Health Select Committee Inquiry into Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes.

Obesity and its sequelae, type 2 diabetes, concerns all of society, it's a problem we all share within; our own family, our friends and wider community and as a nation where obesity and type 2 diabetes imposes largely avoidable costs on us all.

Obesity at the very basic level is caused by an energy imbalance – as a society many of us are consuming more energy than we are expending. The real question is "Why are so many of us on the wrong side of this equation?".

ARPHS believes that the solution to increasing levels of obesity in the population is in a broad range of initiatives that focus on making the healthier choice the easier choice.

This means more than ensuring that the community knows the value of good nutritional choices and the necessity of exercise as part of everyday life. Making the healthier choice the easier choice also means creating an environment in which people are dissuaded from consuming high energy foods and having a sedentary lifestyle.

An environment that supports the healthier choice starts in the home, but should be encouraged through early childhood education where ARPHS believes nutrition policies should be mandatory. At school cafeteria and tuck shops should only offer healthy choices. Walking, cycling or bussing to school should be the preferred choice for pupils. Making walking and cycling safe and desirable will only occur through good urban design that develops active liveable communities.

A community that habitually chooses the healthy choice will have less obesity and type 2 diabetes. If, as a community, we take a public health approach to these largely avoidable conditions we will have more of our health dollar left to meet need elsewhere.

ARPHS presented the Committee with a range of suggestions to address obesity and type 2 diabetes based on its work promoting healthy lifestyles and liveable communities through such initiatives as the Healthy Kai and Healthy Beverages Projects, tailored electronic messages, Health Impact Assessments and State of Public Health Reports.

The Healthy Kai project supports retailers in Otara, Mangere and Glen Eden to offer healthy food choices rather than high fat takeaways. The project has resulted in increased shopper awareness of healthy eating, increased sale of "healthy kai"; more sandwiches, filled rolls, stir-fry, soup and pan-fried fish sold. Sushi introduced, more vegetables in the stir fry and less oil, salt and MSG being used.

The Healthy Beverage project was an award winner in the recent health innovation awards. This programme is being rolled out into Auckland's schools. The concept is based on a simple traffic light system where beverages are categorised into either 'Green', 'Orange' or 'Red' based on their sugar content and portion size. Under the guidelines, beverages classified as 'Green' represent the healthiest choice, offering some nutritional value and containing less energy than 'Amber' or 'Red' category beverages.

In the pilot project schools became actively engaged in the project in May 2005, by November 2005, 87% of participating schools had removed or partially removed all CSDs. Sales of 'Green' beverages (water and low fat milk) in participating schools rose from 6.5% to 30.0% of total sales, whilst 'Red' beverage sales almost halved, 67.5 to 38.5%.

The tailored electronic nutritional message system is a new concept to support primary health care. This interactive tool develops nutritional advice tailored to the individual based on the individual's response to a series of questions. Experience has shown that such tailored information is more likely to be acted on than generic advice. Advice that is acted on to help one family member usually results in changes to an entire family's diet and helps the health of all household members.

Health Impact Assessments are a process by which local authorities and others can assess the positive and negative health impacts of a proposal and look at how the positive benefits can be accentuated and the negative eliminated or reduced. The use of health impact assessments together with ARPHS State of Public Health Reports supports and encourages local authorities and others to give as much weight to the health impact of their decisions as they do to environmental or financial effects.

ARPHS believes that the obesity pandemic can only be defeated by action at all levels of society that encourage healthy choices in nutrition and daily life. Action and change is needed at all stages of life from childhood onwards to reduce the chances of any individual becoming obese and suffering on going ill health in later life.

Copies of the ARPHS submission are available from Andy Roche. Phone 09-623-4600 xt 27105, email aroche@adhb.govt.nz


For more information contact:

Frank Booth
Manager Public Health Intelligence and Infrastructure
Auckland Regional Public Health Service
Cell 021 492 093

Ends

Fleur King
External Communications Manager
Auckland District Health Board

Phone: 09 630 9952
Fax: 09 630 9789
Mobile: 021 804 122